The magic of Lewis Hamilton appears to be over: the seven-time F1 world champion, now in his first yr at Ferrari, seems unrecognizable, and Carlo Vanzini fears Charles Leclerc could “retire” him. Ending solely sixth on the chequered flag of the Spanish Grand Prix, the Briton even gave approach to Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber. It was a disheartening final result after one more race spent within the shadow of his teammate.
It’s a matter of “adaptation,” as typically repeated in current months. After spending his complete profession with McLaren and Mercedes, it’s solely pure that Hamilton wants time to regulate to new techniques and buildings. Nonetheless, on the ninth spherical of the season, there are nonetheless few constructive indicators from Ferrari #44. Far off his teammate’s tempo, he was even crushed in Barcelona by a shocking Nico Hulkenberg.
The comparability with Charles Leclerc is hanging: the Monegasque is constantly forward in races – besides at Imola, the place he was overtaken throughout a restart on used tyres – and has been outqualified solely in Shanghai and Barcelona. However what’s worrying is not only the ultimate end result, however the race tempo itself: the Briton is usually slower, much less efficient when it comes to race rhythm, and when forward, finally ends up giving up the place.
Hamilton like Vettel: “retirement” comes from Leclerc
In his post-race debrief on his YouTube channel, Carlo Vanzini analysed what occurred in Spain: “I’ve all the time stated Hamilton can be a fantastic match for Ferrari when it comes to mindset, vitality, and work technique. I all the time warned a couple of doable boomerang impact – enthusiasm, if not backed up by outcomes, might backfire.”
“I stated this as a result of I believed Ferrari can be combating for the championship, as they claimed themselves – not the media, as Fred Vasseur says. I imagined a Lewis Hamilton who would convey out the perfect in Charles Leclerc, with each drivers combating for podiums. And in a method, that is taking place: Leclerc is combating for 4th–fifth, whereas Lewis is 2 or three positions behind.” – he identified.
“That is already the second time he’s been requested to maneuver over for Leclerc, and it’s fairly embarrassing that, as soon as overtaken, he falls up to now again. After all, there are mitigating elements – he’s driving a automobile he doesn’t but know, and so forth. However this was a observe the place Hamilton has six pole positions and 6 wins. If he begins fifth and finishes sixth, whereas Leclerc begins seventh and finally ends up third, one thing’s not working.”
“Lewis Hamilton’s success would have come together with Charles Leclerc’s and Ferrari’s success within the constructors’ standings. We’ve by no means seen this type of Lewis earlier than. It’s too early to say for certain, nevertheless it looks like a repeat of the previous: Leclerc retired a four-time world champion like Sebastian Vettel, changing Ferrari’s final world champion, Kimi Raikkonen – and now he appears on observe to retire a seven-time world champion.”
“I’ve all the time stated: if sooner or later Ferrari has a automobile able to 1-2 finishes, we’ll see Lewis Hamilton shine. In any other case, we’ll see him battle. Let’s watch for a brand new automobile and the driving model dictated by the upcoming rules.” – the F1 commentator concluded.